letted

HI
1987 4X4, 4runner, 22RE, EFI, automatic –rough, stalling idle ~500rpm, used to be 1000rpm. 100Kmiles on reman long-block installed by dealer in NJ; shoulda lasted longer. Had head gasket replaced on it @~47Kmiles, head not planed
No smoke, no mayo, no power—
Compression #1=115, #2=90, #3=145, #4 = 145
2 broken bolts on exhaust manifold gasket, leaks pretty badly
Mechanic diagnosis = burnt valve, possible worn cam lobe (this soon on reman LB)?
worn rings, cylinder, etc.
{A} He wants $300 to try and (1)extricate broken exhaust studs from the engine (good luck there), re-install another manifold exh. gasket(2) remove dome cover and gap valves 8 & 12 respectively, (3)remove and clean out throttle body
(4)replace fuel filter that’s probably filthy…
no guarantee on the Exh man. Bolts and he suspects something maybe worse lurking;
{B}Considering replacing another reman engine from engineparts.com in Oregon on Ebay @1100 + 580 ship to VT. 700 installation, plus I’ll need to pony up another h2o pump, radiator, Exh manifold bolt/studs, motor mounts, fuel filter, fluids, yada-yada…He’ll flush out the Throttle body, hook everything back up and should be a decent rig –TOTAL COST ESTIMATE $2800.
I’m not a mechanic; I’m a looker and a go-fer with some mechanical understanding.
The folks on Yota got the chops, maybe someone could advise option A or B or C,move on to another vehicle.
200K miles on chassis, rotted rear quarters and wheel wells, undercarriage rusty but not too bad; replaced half of everything imaginable, well maintained but a bucket with a hole. Thing ran great, shifted great, a bear off road, new tires, almost new tailgate from CA, perfect condition (find that these days)! Anyway, I prefer to keep the SUV but…..
I’m adverse to doing the smaller, machine shop examination looking for bad cam, or bad cylinder and get into a grand worth of parts, labor and end up with another boat anchor.
QUESTION: does the low compression trump the other possible causes of poor idle, to stalling dangerously upon de-celeraton making the thing undriveable for now.
Would/Could Toyota dealer(arrgh) computer exam elaborate as to what is wrong?
Fixing a host of things as outlined by mechanic still doesn’t address an engine with low/ unacceptable compression , especially in #2 =90 psi
Should this vehicle be recycled for parts?
Thanks
letted

Duffdog

At this point, it seems like there could just be a problem with the head. I would remove the head, take it to a REPUTABLE machine shop and have them look at it. I never put a head back on a 22re with headgasket issues unless it gets decked, period.

I once bought a 4runner with a "new" reman engine and the #4 cam lobe was flat after 1 week. Also, if the compression low compression is not due to the head, and instead you have a bad ring set on one piston (or bad piston) I would just look into a new engine.

letted

Thanks Duff, will take under careful advisement, leaning toward another vehicle only due to rust issues with chassis, probably not gonna last another 5 years up here in VT. my last 4Run, 1989 SR5, lasted ten years before sides began to peel up and liftgate failed. It was a good ten years though.